Sealed Fate
by slytherin24
Summary: Sometimes, fate has a way of doing what is needed. Even if it seems like everything has been messed up. And Albus has learned to just go with it.


**Albus's POV**

Today was Valentine's Day. Our last Valentine's Day at Hogwarts. Scorpius was already planning his surprise for Rose. He wanted to charm the library to be all lovey-dovey and have books sing to her about his love. Then they were going to go to Hogsmede and he would buy her sweets. Lastly, they would take a ride around Hogwarts. Scorpius thinks I should do something along the lines of his plan. The thing is, Em and I don't study, have enough candy to last us another week, and can't stand flying. Anyways, I had bigger plans. Way bigger. Proof of this was in my left pocket in a black velvet box. A box that held promise. That weighed me down every time I saw her. Yup, I had a ring. And today was the day I was going to propose...hopefully. I still hadn't planned out exactly how to ask her.

"Stop fretting Albus. You'll do fine." Scorpius ensured me. "I bet you she won't think twice about her answer."

"But what if.."

"No what-ifs. I said you'll be fine, and when am I ever wrong?" I sighed. He had a point. Maybe I was just being too over-hyped.

"Come on. Let's go-to breakfast." I said. We walked silently to the Great Hall and sat at the Slytherin table. Luckily, Emaline wasn't there yet, so I had time to gather my senses. "She'll come, then I will start a small talk on love and whatnot." I started.

"And I'll distract her with some random knowledge while you sneak the ring onto her plate, and when she looks back, voila. She gasps in shock, cries happy tears, and agrees to marry you. You'll kiss and everyone will applaud. You'll be an engaged man by the end of breakfast!" Scorpius announced.

"You're proposing!" Someone excitedly asked. I turned around slowly, ready to meet my fate. "I can't believe it!" Emaline gasped. "Why didn't you tell me."

"Ummm..." Scorpius began. "You weren't supposed to hear that."

"And why not." She put her hands on her hips. "Am I not supposed to know that my best friend is proposing to the women of his dreams. After listening to your moaning for over three years!" Scorpius and I looked at each other in confusion. then back at her. Suddenly, Scorpus gasped in realization.

"Wait, you think I'm proposing? No!" Em crinkled her face.

"If your not, then who is. I heard you say that someone will be engaged by the end of breakfast."

"Hunter!" I interrupted. "Hunter Finnegan was boasting about a proposal in the Great Hall this morning."

"To who exactly?" She asked, not noticing our little lie. "I never knew he was taken."

"I don't believe it," Scorpius said, smiling slightly at me. "If there was one guy to propose right now it wouldn't be Hunter."

"then who would it be?" she asked. He discreetly motioned me to put the ring on her plate. I dug into my pocket and felt nothing there. I put my hand back in, still nothing. My eyes widened. Before I could say anything, Emaline turned back and dug into her food. Scorpius gave me a confused glance and kept talking like nothing had happened. But I was frantic. I had lost the ring. And I was pretty sure I took it with me out of the Head dorms. Then, how did it drop?

"Albus!" Emaline snapped impatiently. What do you think?" I looked at her.

"What?"

"We're you even listening. I asked what you thought about Michelle and George's relationship. I think it's pretty cute. Did you see the sign he made her this morning? Perfect, if I had to judge." I smiled. It was so like Emaline to start random topics that didn't really go with the topic. That's why I loved her.

The bell rang, signaling the end of breakfast. Em was dragged away by her dorm mate for some random reason. That's when Scorpius pulled me over. "What happened? This was your chance!" I sighed.

"I know, I know. But we have bigger problems. Like, the ring."

"What's wrong with it?"

"I've lost it..." Scorpius's eyes grew wide."

"What do you mean you've lost it!"

"I had it in your common room, and not at breakfast."

"That was the Potter heirloom ring! Lily wore it, Ginny wore it, and now Emaline was supposed to wear it!" I sighed again. That was a very important ring. It was to be given to the first male of every Potter house. The only reason I have it is because James wasn't planning on proposing anytime soon. He happily gave it to me. And now I've lost it in a castle.

"You've done it, now," Scorpius said. "But I guess that's how unfair life can be. Let's just get to class, maybe it'll turn up."

"Get to class! Do you know how many people are in this castle? someone could have taken it by now. We can't go to class with a ring on the loose!"

"And I'm a Head! I can't miss class. That would count as being a bad example for everyone. I could lose my position!"

"And I could lose the love of my life Scorp! You gotta do this, for me!" He sighed.

"Fine. Come on then."

We looked everywhere and everywhere. In the halls, common room, Head dorms, Great Hall, even the Room of Requirement.

"Why don't we just summon it?" Scorpius asked after a while.

"Because it is enchanted. You can't use any spell on it." I explained. He sighed and sat down.

"Well, then I guess you're done for. There's no way we are going to find it." Before I could protest, heels could be heard hitting the ground right next to us. I turned around to face my Headmistress.

"Well, well, well. Now, what do you think you are doing?" McGonagall asked. Her eyes narrowed, making her look even scarier.

"I-we- well..." Scorpius stammered.

"You were not in your class learning that's what. I expected better from you Mr. Malfoy. Skipping class! Why on earth?"

"I lost something very important," I stated. Her gaze turned toward me.

"You've lost something. And you haven't thought to summon it."

"We did, actually. But, it wasn't going to work."

"And what is this that you've lost?"

"Its a ring, Headmistress." Her eyes widened.

"A ring! Dear Merlin! But, what ring can't be summoned? Especially with your power Mr. Malfoy."

"It's not my ring," Scorpius explained, "it's Al's." This time, McGonagall froze.

"Albus! You're proposing? And you've lost the ring! The Potter heirloom ring!"

"Maybe..." I begin. She sighed.

"I'll let you all go this time. But only because it's important." I smiled. Thank goodness she was letting us go. "But you must get to class right away. No more skipping class beginning now." She warned and walked away. I sighed. So she technically didn't let us off the hook.

"I'm sorry Al. Maybe, maybe it'll show up." I sighed again. Why was life this unfair? Something always seemed to go wrong for me. The rest of the morning past like a breeze. Next thing I knew, it was lunch. Then the rest of my classes were canceled and a Hogsmede Day was set in place. But I really didn't care. Every time I saw all the happy couples I felt sick. I needed to be alone. Where no one could find me. So I took my rarely used broom and went to the quidditch pitch. No one would expect to see me here. I hated flying. But today was an exception. I sat on my broom and slow;y rose up. In the air, I let all my worries disappear. I focused on the wind.

"ALBUS!" I heard a voice yell my name. I looked down to see my brother James on the ground, waving me to him. "ALBUS! I know you can hear me!" I descended down.

"James? Aren't you supposed to be at work?"

"Ya, but you're my brother. I'm always gonna be here for you." He said. "I heard what happened."

"How?" I questioned. Had Scorpius told everyone?

"I told him," Lily said, appearing from nowhere. Great. Now I had both my siblings trying to comfort me. "I thought maybe both of us could help you get through it." I smiled. Maybe having siblings wasn't that bad. Then, another thought struck my head.

"How did you know, Lils?" She scrunched her eyebrows, deep in thought.

"Well, I had to get something I left in the Heads dorm. Rose gave me the password, so that's how I got in. That's when I saw it on the countertop. I was at first confused but put in my pocket. Then I heard that you and Scorpius missed class. And you didn't show up for lunch or come to Hogsmede. To add to that, Emaline seemed very sad, or concerned. It was one of those. I figured it hadn't gone well." I nodded.

"Cheer up Albus. I don't know why any girl would refuse you. You may be a handful and in the antisocial zone. Not to mention your weird friends and lack of power. Oh! Maybe its because you are terrible at..."

"I get it! I'm not the best wizard out there!" I interrupted him. "What's your point."

"The point," began Lily, glaring at James, "is that you are special. You are unique. And one day you will find a girl who loves you for you and would want to spend an eternity with you."

"Emaline loves me." I pointed out. James sighed and put his arms around me.

"Al. You have to accept that she said no. I don't know the reason behind it. And maybe she does love you, but you can't wait for someone. Sometimes if the girl isn't ready now, she will never be ready."

Now I was beyond confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Your proposal rejection," Lily answered. "Why?" I laughed I realized what was going on. "What's so funny! We are trying to help you."

"I didn't ask." I clarified. "I'm sad because I lost the ring to ask. The one you gave me, James. I was supposed to ask today, but now that's ruined." James and Lily gasped.

"That's it! Well, why didn't you just say so? I have the ring in my pocket!"

"WHAT!" I said. "You've had the ring this whole time?"

"Yes," she answered. "I thought you placed it on the counter after she said no and went to go pout somewhere where no one would find you." I smiled in relief. Then another thought hit me.

"It's too late," I stated. "The sun is already going down. People are heading back. By the time I find her and make another plan. Well, it just won't work." Lily shook her head and placed the ring into my hand.

"So what? You don't have to ask today. There are so many other days to do it. In so many other ways. It will still be special." With that, they walked off and left me alone to my thoughts. Would she still love me? Even if I messed up the proposal. Would she tolerate all my flaws if we got married?

"Are you ok?" Another familiar voice said. I jumped.

"Yes."

"Are you sure? You seem down?" She asked.

"I'm totally peachy, Em," I assured her. Instead of letting me be, she moved her broom to be in front of mine and held my face in her arms.

"Albus Severus Potter. Tell me what is wrong. I won't leave until I know." I looked into her eyes, filled with worry. All for me. "I love you, Albus." I sighed. It seemed like I had been doing that a lot lately.

"Emaline Clarise Culberry. I am fine." She looked me up and down, looking for a trace of a lie. But she couldn't find one. So she gave up.

"What are you doing up here anyway. I thought you hated flying."

"I still do."

"Then what's the exception?"

"I-I don't know. I just felt like it." I lied again.

"Isn't the castle beautiful." She said.

"Yes," I replied. But I wasn't looking at it. I was looking at her. Because looking at Hogwarts would never get old, but looking at Em made me live. And I wanted to live my best life. With her. No matter the proposal. She smiled at me. Made my stomach have butterflies. "Marry me," I stated. Then gasped, because I hadn't meant to say those two words.

"W-what?" She stammered, her eyes wider than the sky. I gathered all my courage and pulled out the black velvet box.

"Marry me." She looked at me again, her eyes filled with tears. "I know I'm not the greatest wizard out there. Or even in the top 100. But I love you. And I want to marry you and have children, and grow old together. I want to tell our grandchildren stories about Hogwarts, and..." I couldn't finish my speech, because she had kissed me. Just like I had kissed her all those years ago. We broke, gasping for air.

"Yes," she whispered. "Yes. Yes." She said more confidently. I felt my heart stop. She said yes! Emailine agreed. I took the ring, the ring that had caused me so many problems, and put it on her finger. Then she jumped me, hugging me tightly. Whispering yes into my ear. Kissing me when she could. "I love you so much." She said. I smiled and held her tighter.

"Not as much as I love you." And as we sat there, watching the sunset over Hogwarts, in the air, on a broom, hugging each other as tight as we could, pampering each other with kisses, holding hands and admiring a ring, I realized that this was fate. I was meant to lose the ring, and I was meant to ask her at this time. And that fate was sealed. It was sealed fate from the beginning.


End file.
